The Rabid Paladin

A lot has been written about drugs and whether we should decriminalize certain "recreational" drugs. I have already written one essay on how this issue eventually divorced me from the Libertarian party. Well, the issue of "medical marijuana" has become something of a hot topic and I'd like to express my thoughts on what is going on.

The thing is, I think it is a real shame that we are unable to approach marijuana research rationally in the United States. Sure, marijuana is a drug. So is morphine. So is aspirin for that matter. And so is Ritalin which, by the way, I am currently on. The thing about drugs is that they affect our minds and bodies in weird and interesting ways. Indiscriminate use of these drugs is clearly wrong and should be prohibited.

That said, intelligent and medical use of these drugs should be possible. Should be encouraged in my opinion. There is reason to suspect that marijuana could lead us to significant breakthroughs in fighting certain aspects of disease. At a minimum, marijuana encourages appetite and suppresses nausea--two benefits that could help some people with extreme treatment regimens (like AIDS sufferers) that produce nausea and hurt appetite.

For those wondering, other countries are doing some interesting research on the affect of marijuana on the mind and body:

It would be interesting to pursue these breakthroughs and see what it is that we've been given for amazing chemicals on this planet.